


Alternate Endings

by hbxplain



Series: More Lives Than One [12]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), More Lives Than One, Original Work
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Bordmar Peaks, Finnaela's POV, Mention of AFA - Freeform, Planar System, and if u skip the very last section, but it's not actually on-screen, it stays a happy ending!!, its just implied, look we all know how vebeka's story ends, so the 'character death' goes without saying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:22:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hbxplain/pseuds/hbxplain
Summary: A look at how Finny and Vebeka's relationship changed in a couple different planes; and, finally, how it changed in the main one.
Relationships: Finnaela Raegan/Vebeka
Series: More Lives Than One [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1469825





	Alternate Endings

**I: Plane B**

Traveling isn’t as lonely as it used to be.

It used to be town after unfamiliar town, more a collection of empty boxes to check off her list than a slew of interesting destinations. Finny _likes_ traveling, lonely or not. She loves seeing how the world changes from one town to another; she likes seeing how a _town_ changes between one visit and the next. But after a while, it gets hard to make friends. Why grow to care about someone you’ll soon have to leave behind?

But now she has Vebeka trekking beside her, pointing out interesting landmarks and commenting on strangely-made maps. So it’s not as lonely anymore, and Finny leaves every town with the sort of bittersweet feeling that is mercifully more sweet than bitter. She knows, wholly and truly, that she will never be alone so long as her new friend is by her side.

Finny doesn’t fear losing Vebeka. Maybe she should, but she doesn’t. She’s quick to make attachments if she doesn’t catch herself; she falls more often than she stands back up, she thinks. But Vebeka looks at her with an expression so familiar that Finny jumps the first time she catches it in the mirror. Vebeka falls just as fast as she does. Thank the gods.

Even so… It’s still difficult, sometimes, to leave a place behind. And, as Vebeka slashes through the shrubbery with Finny’s well-worn sword, Finny says as much.

“Do you ever wish things would stay a little more familiar?”

Vebeka pauses in her hack-and-slash efforts, glancing over her shoulder at Finny for a moment before she continues. “How do you mean?”

“I mean… Oh, I don’t know. Don’t you ever miss the cities we visit? Wish we could see something _familiar_ for once?”

“I thought you liked finding new ground to cover!”

“I do! I just… wonder if it’s enough, sometimes.”

Vebeka pauses again, but this time she turns around entirely, dropping the sword to her side. “Well, there’s us.”

“There is us,” Finny agrees, and falls silent again.

She’s known Vebeka for something like a year now; it’s strange, because she feels like she’s known her forever. Vebeka is brave, and funny, and so so caring. For the first month or so after they met, she would mask her emotions with well-timed deflections and snarky humor. But that fell away soon enough.

Vebeka, Finny is learning, tends to love like her life depends on it. And _that_ _’s_ familiar, as familiar as anything else Finny’s ever experienced; Finny knows it by name, because she seems to _call_ that name every time she starts thinking she’s in too deep. But Vebeka doesn’t try to hold herself back. Finny thinks she might have tried, in the very beginning, but she certainly doesn’t _now._

And, actually, part of that is so unfamiliar to Finny as to be completely unrecognizable. Because when has Finny ever known someone who meant what they said, and said what they felt, and _felt_ with such reckless, accepting abandon? Vebeka loves herself, and that makes her other love steadier. Stronger. Ready to last.

(Finny loves _her_ self, too. But that’s pretty new. She’s been working on it for a little under a century now, building up a habit whose blueprints she was never taught. And she’s getting there. Slowly, but oh so surely. And even more so with Vebeka’s help.)

So ‘there is us,’ yes. And that’s _something._ Hmm.

“But you weren’t talking about us,” Vebeka says a few minutes later. There’s no judgment in her voice.

“No, I wasn’t,” Finny mumbles.

“What were you talking about, then?”

Finny hums to herself, thinking. “I… I suppose I was talking about the towns. The civilizations. The people in them.” She stops, and then hurries to clarify. “Not that I’d ever prefer that over this! I’m happy traveling around with you.”

“I know,” Vebeka replies, shooting her a smile over her shoulder. “You don’t have to censor yourself, you know that. Goofball.”

Finny rolls her eyes, not even trying to hide the fond smile on her face.

“So, what about the cities and people do you miss? Just, the socialization?”

“I guess?” Finny says, and then shakes her head. “No, actually. It’s not that I want to _stay_ in those cities. Or even talk to those people for all that long. I just have trouble thinking of a never-ending road as _home._ _”_

“You aren’t looking for a home that’s different,” Vebeka realizes. “Just a home you can recognize.”

“Yes! Yes, thank you,” Finny laughs. “How do you always do that?”

“What, read your mind?”

“ _Yes!”_

“A magician never reveals her secrets.”

Finny grumbles good-naturedly. They fall back into comfortable silence.

“Maybe you could start collecting shit,” Vebeka suggests as they finally come into a bit of a clearing. “Souvenirs and stuff. To keep with you on your travels.”

“Huh,” Finny says quietly. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll do that.”

The rest of the journey passes quickly; it’s around noon that they arrive at their destination, a small town in the middle of Lilting. They check into an inn on the second floor of a tavern, and Finny heads up to their room to start unpacking their stuff while Vebeka—who looks strangely thoughtful, though Finny’s certain she’ll talk about it when she’s ready—goes to refresh their supplies at the local market.

Finny finishes unpacking pretty quickly; she sets up one bed for Vebeka, and one for herself, and then she starts pouring through one of the huge tomes they came across recently in a haunted castle. Vebeka will call her a nerd when she returns, no doubt. But she’ll listen patiently while Finny excitedly summarizes her findings, and that’s all that matters.

She falls into a sort of trance for what must be several hours, judging by the darkness of the sky when Vebeka snaps her out of it. “Hey,” Vebeka whispers, easing her carefully back into the world. “I have something to show you.”

Finny stretches and sets her book aside. “What is it?”

“Why don’t you come see? It’s in the tavern.”

Finny nods, stretching again as she stands. “Mmkay.”

She’s wide awake by the time they reach the tavern, but if she wasn’t, the sight of the beautifully lit room would be enough to finish the job. Vebeka’s set the place up with candles and tablecloths and a faint music playing from a direction Finny can’t determine. To top the whole thing off, one of the tables is set with a snowglobe as its centerpiece.

“What’s all this?” Finny asks, a little breathless, and Vebeka grins and takes her hand to lead her in.

“Up to you,” Vebeka says. “Though I do have a couple ideas.” She pauses, and then leads Finny to the table with the snowglobe on it. “Look! I got it from the local market, they had a section dedicated to souvenirs!”

“It’s perfect,” Finny says quietly as Vebeka picks it up and shakes it, sending snowflakes flying around its little scene. Vebeka smiles at her with the kind of smile that’s… not the same, actually. This one is different, somehow.

Vebeka breaks out some sparkling grapejuice she got from the tavernkeep when she was renting the place out, and they toast with their little glasses before falling into a comfortable chatter. Eventually, they settle on the counter, legs crossed as they face each other.

And then Vebeka starts to scoot a little closer. Finny doesn’t stop her.

Vebeka moves closer still, reaching out to take her hand. Finny still doesn’t stop her. She’s not sure she can even move.

“Can I kiss you?” Vebeka asks, the words hardly more than a breath in the perfect silence of the tavern.

“Anytime,” Finny says, just as reverent, and Vebeka pulls her closer still. She leans in and-

Finny wakes up with a jolt.

That was… strange. It wasn’t a nightmare, certainly not. Finny recalls perfectly the feeling of utter happiness from the dream. But it was… wrong, for them. Something about it just didn’t click. And it was made stranger still by the fact that it had followed the previous day’s events quite closely up until the kiss.

Finny glances over to her left; Vebeka is still asleep on her own bed in the inn room. Everything is fine. Nothing has changed, nothing is Wrong. Vebeka and Finny are still Right.

But Finny can’t fall asleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

**II: Plane C**

Finny yawns as she slowly blinks awake, roused by Vebeka’s hands on her arm.

“G’morning,” Finny says, half a yawn. She’s been traveling with Vebeka for almost two years now, and it’s really nice not having to sleep with one eye open. But then she catches sight of the poorly-hidden fear on Vebeka’s face, and she’s fully awake. “Beks? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” Vebeka says immediately. She does that dragonborn blushing thing she does, the scales on her cheeks ruffling slightly, reflecting the sunlight. “It’s nothing bad. Hopefully. I just, I- I have something to ask you.”

Finny blinks. Vebeka was acting strangely the night before, and Finny had assumed she’d bring up whatever was bothering her when she felt ready. Now she has, apparently.

“Okay,” Finny says easily, sitting up and slipping her hand into Vebeka’s. “Shoot.”

“I want… I…”

“Whatever you want,” Finny says sincerely, “I’ll do my best to give it to you. Promise.”

Vebeka smiles, and while it’s suitably hesitant, it’s also comfortable and trusting. “I know,” she replies. “But this is…” She sighs. “Finny, will you be my battlepartner?”

“Sure,” Finny instantly replies. “What’s that?”

“You don’t even know what it is, and you’re agreeing?” Vebeka asks in disbelief.

“Of course I am. You’re my Beks.”

Vebeka grins, squeezing Finny’s hand. “Hell yeah I am.” Encouraged, Vebeka barrels on. “In the blue dragonborn tribe- well. In _most_ dragonborn tribes, I think. We have this thing called ‘battlepartners.’ At its base, it just means two or more people who are dedicated to protecting each other, no matter what, until the end of time. Putting each other’s needs first, having each other’s backs. They’re a team, always.”

“Aren’t we _already_ battlepartners?” Finny asks curiously.

Vebeka stops. She thinks.

“Damn,” she says.

Finny laughs. “Dork. So, battlepartners. Is there something we need to do to, um… make it official, or anything?”

Vebeka shakes her head. “No, at least not in my culture. We just _are._ We have an unbreakable bond now.” She blushes again, looking away in something like embarrassment. “Kinda like we did yesterday. And the day before that. I may have procrastinated this for a while.”

Finny smiles. “That’s okay. It seems like it’s a really big deal. Makes sense that you’d be a little nervous.”

“Not really,” Vebeka says with a grin, jumping to her feet and pulling Finny with her. “I should’ve known you’d agree. I mean, like you said, we were basically doing the whole battlepartner thing already!” She gasps. “Oh, wait, Fin! That’s part of the partnership, actually, there’s an extra perk- I can share my wings with you!”

Finny’s eyes widen. “You can _what?_ _”_

“ _Yeah!”_ Vebeka says, bouncing excitedly. “We can ‘trade space,’ you can borrow my wings for as long as you want.”

“Awesome,” Finny whispers. “Hey, we should head over to the Pinnacle and fly around the mountains!”

“You’re so smart,” Vebeka gushes. “It’s gonna be so much fun, oh my gods.”

“Well, let’s get going, then,” Finny says, grabbing her hand and scooping up one of their two packs with her free hand. Vebeka grabs the other, and they dart away from their hastily-constructed campsite, setting their sights on Cerigan’s Pinnacle.

Finny’s thoughts wander for the rest of the day, but it’s okay because Vebeka’s do too. Every once in a while, one of them will pipe up with a totally irrelevant question or comment. And Finny _loves_ it. When the sun begins to set that night, they finally break their comfortable silence for more than a few seconds as they begin to prepare their campsite. They talk idly about anything that comes to mind, and it’s nice.

But Finny has an idea.

And now that she’s had it, she’s _certain_ she won’t be able to shake it, so when Vebeka finishes preparing a little shelter in case of rain, Finny pulls her to her feet and breaks into an impromptu dance number.

Neither of them are very good at dancing, but they enjoy it, especially when they’re together. So they dance, spinning around the clearing they’ve settled in, and Finny feels a certain warmth within herself when Vebeka laughs, like everything is right in the world. And when they finally slow to a stop, Finny decides she’s not done. She wants more.

They’re near the edge of the clearing. Finny leads Vebeka backwards and then pushes her up gently against a tree. Vebeka blushes, and that blush only grows when Finny leans forward, stepping into Vebeka’s space, placing one of her legs between Vebeka’s own. She leans closer to her dragonborn ‘ears,’ and she whispers, “Maybe this battlepartnership could come with another change, too.”

“Such as?” Vebeka asks, raising one eyebrow ridge even as she reaches out to pull Finny closer by the collar of her coat.

Finny grins and opens her mouth to tell Vebeka exactly what she’d like to do to her-

Finny wakes up feeling all _kinds_ of weird.

“Fin?” Vebeka mumbles, half asleep as she reaches out an arm to grab blindly at Finny’s own. “Wha’s wrong?”

“I… I just had a weird dream. Go back to sleep, Beks.”

“Nuh uh,” Vebeka grumbles. “What kind of weird?”

“I don’t know,” Finny says, her face flushing hot as she thinks over the contents of her dream. “Not… Not _bad._ It just wasn’t _right_ for us.”

“Us?” Vebeka asks, humming tiredly as she snuggles closer and weasels her way into Finny’s arms. “’S fine, Fins. We’re fine. Forever.”

Vebeka’s asleep again within seconds; Finny suspects she was never really awake to begin with. But Finny, for the rest of the night, can’t get her brain to shut off. No matter what she tries.

* * *

**III: Plane D**

Finny is soaring through the skies, Vebeka’s wide blue wings carrying her smoothly as she clings tight to the grocery bags in her hands. When she lands on the peaks of Bordmar, Vebeka is there to welcome her and to help her sort through the groceries.

“Saw another AFA poster while I was out,” Finny says idly as she lays out some tea packets.

“And?” Vebeka asks curiously. She’s smiling slightly, discarding her pile of groceries in favor of watching Finny talk.

Habitually, Finny smiles back. “And they’re up to the same crazy shit as always.”

“Oh, come on! You’d probably _enjoy_ some of that crazy shit, if you’d just give it a chance.”

“Maybe,” Finny concedes. “But I’d rather stay with you.”

Vebeka hums. Finny feels calm, like nothing could touch her.

“Oh, hey,” Vebeka speaks up after a while, breaking the comfortable silence. “I got a letter today.”

“A letter?” Finny echoes. “From _who?_ _”_

“The Kerrhylons,” Vebeka says. “My… My tribe.”

“How’d they even find out where you were!?”

“I don’t know,” Vebeka says weakly, shrugging her shoulders. “They sent a goddamn messenger falcon.”

“I’ll have to look into location-hiding sigils,” Finny mumbles.

“Sure.”

Finny furrows her eyebrows. “So… what was in the letter?”

Vebeka sighs.

“What? What’s wrong?” Finny asks, scooting closer.

“I, uh… It’s personal, I guess. Something I have to do. I’ll need the wings back tomorrow.”

“Okay?” Finny agrees despite her confusion. “I usually give them back after trips anyway.”

“Yeah, but… I’ll need them indefinitely, Finny.”

“Okay,” Finny says slowly. “That’s fine. We don’t have to trade space!”

“No, Fin-” Vebeka sighs, dragging her hand down her face, ruffling her scales. “I’ll be _leaving._ I’m going to visit my old tribe.”

Finny’s heart is beating faster, fear creeping up her throat and prickling in her mouth. “That’s fine too! It’s about time we pick a new destination.”

“Finny,” Vebeka says. Her expression is helpless, but the look she’s giving Finny is strict and knowing. “I’m going alone.”

“But,” Finny says quietly, “we’re battlepartners.”

Vebeka winces, like maybe that’s not quite true. “I mean… kinda. But, honestly… This was always gonna be a casual thing, you know? Friends are friends, but everyone drifts apart, eventually.”

Finny’s breath hitches, her heart heaving in her chest, her-

Finny wakes up covered in cold sweat.

Vebeka jolts upright only a moment later, looking over at Finny in concern. “Fin? You okay?”

“We’re not casual,” Finny blurts. “…Right?”

“Right,” Vebeka says gently, crawling closer. “Finny, of _course_ we’re not casual.”

“But we’re friends,” Finny argues even as tears well up in her eyes. “Friends leave.”

“Not always,” Vebeka assures her. She takes Finny’s hand, squeezing it quickly. “And anyway, we’re battlepartners! We’re partners for life.”

Finny nods absently.

Vebeka frowns. “Why are you worrying about this?”

“I… I had a dream. That, uh, after you told me about that letter, you- you said you were going to go visit them. Without me.” Finny swallows hard. “We have a _routine,_ Vebeka! We fit together without having to _think,_ and- I mean, it’s not like I get a rush of emotions every time we’re together. That’s normal! That’s-”

“ _Domestic,”_ Vebeka finishes, cutting her off gently but firmly. “Not casual, Finny. _Domestic._ _”_

“Oh,” Finny says, feeling very far from herself.

“Is that okay?”

Finny swallows again. She nods. “That’s _perfect,_ _”_ she chokes out.

“Then you have no reason to worry,” Vebeka says decisively. “I’m not going to leave you. Not now. Not ever.”

* * *

**IV: Plane A**

They’re sitting by the lake. It’s sparkling and clear, and Vebeka’s kicking her feet in the water. Finny would smile if she wasn’t thinking so hard.

“I met a couple in the last town,” she says, out of the blue.

Vebeka looks up at her, her feet slowing to an idle kick. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Finny says. “And they were together. But they weren’t, um… _together._ _”_

“How do you mean?” Vebeka asks curiously.

“They explained it to me,” Finny says carefully. “They said they were in a- a queerplatonic relationship.”

“Ooh, fancy,” Vebeka says, playful as ever. “So, what’s that?”

“It’s- They’re not romantic, or sexual, or anything. But they’re committed to each other all the same. They’re friends, but- but stronger, and closer, and, theoretically, forever.”

“Oh,” Vebeka says calmly, “like us!”

Calmly, like it doesn’t rock Finny’s world. Calmly, like it doesn’t answer all of Finny’s questions in one steady go. Finny’s not sure why she expected any less from a person so loving and patient as Vebeka.

“ _We’re_ in a QPR?” Finny asks.

“Yeah,” Vebeka says. She shrugs. “At least, that’s what it sounds like. But we oughta make it official. Will you be my queerplatonic, uh, partner?”

“Yeah,” Finny says quietly. “Yeah, shit, of course, Beks.”

Vebeka grins, pulling Finny closer for a side hug, and then she goes back to playfully kicking her feet in the water.

“Thank you,” Finny says after a while. “For making me feel safe. Like I finally have a home that _matters._ _”_

Vebeka looks up, pulling her feet out of the water and tucking them beneath herself as she leans against Finny’s arm. “I love you, too.”

Finny doesn’t mind, anymore, that relationships on this world are so hit-and-miss. Because when you finally find one that fits… it’s worth the wait. It’s worth-

Finny wakes up.

She sniffs. She runs a hand through her hair.

Her inn room is empty, and cold. Of _course_ she would dream of that beautiful moment on her first night without her best friend.

She would’ve taken _any_ kind of relationship over _this._


End file.
